If Jesus had a tagline during His ministry I believe it would have been "Have Faith In God"! Jesus lived, spoke, and taught faith. He knew without faith it was impossible to please His Father. The Word of God says, the just live by faith (Hebrews 10:38). God has given each of His children a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). As we mature and grow in our spiritual walk with Him, we should be praying and asking Him to increase our measure of faith. We all should pray to obtain great faith, the type of faith Jesus has. Throughout His 33 years on this earth, Jesus lived, spoke, and taught great faith. So what is great faith? Great faith, as given to me by the Holy Spirit, is the unshakeable, immovable, and unchangeable belief in God, His Word, and His ability to perform His written or Rhema Word in your life.
For Part 1 of this series, I am going to break down what it means to have unshakeable faith. The Greek translation of the world unshakeable is ἀσάλευτος (asáleutos) , which means unshaken or unmoved. A perfect example of this type of faith is found in Matthew 15:21-8. In this passage of scripture, a Canaanite woman approached Jesus and asked Him to heal her demon possessed daughter.
The first time the woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter, He ignored her. Determined to get her daughter's healing, she cried out to Him again. The second time He answered her and told her He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel (24).If you are not familiar with the this story the woman was a Gentile and legally Jesus wasn't suppose to perform any miracles for people outside of the Jewish faith until after His resurrection. Still unfazed by Jesus' answer, she asked Him again. Jesus then said to her, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs" (Matthew 15:26) Even with Him saying that to her she replied to Him even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table (Matthew 15:27). Her response amazed Jesus so much that He said to her, Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted" (Matthew 15:28).
The Canaanite woman received her daughter's healing because she had unshakeable faith or as Jesus called it great faith! That woman was unmoved and unshaken by Jesus' many responses of no. She was like you are going to heal my daughter and you are going to heal her TODAY! People with unshakeable faith don't get rattled when God doesn't grant their request immediately. They keep asking, praying, and believing and until God answers them. To develop unshakeable faith you have to learn the art of patience. The Widow woman in Luke 18 was patient! The woman in this story was patient! Their faith didn't shake after being told no initially. People with unshakeable faith are confident that God answers those whose ask and they stand on this His promise in Luke 18:7-8:
"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Let's recap all these spiritual nuggets! Great faith is the unshakeable, unchangeable, and immovable belief in God, His Word, and His ability to perform His written and Rhema Word in your life! People with unshakeable faith are unmoved when they encounter resistance or delay. They are not shaken by the word no because they are developed and matured in the spirit of patience! Do you have unshakeable faith? Faith like Jacob that says, "I will let you go until you bless me" ( Genesis 32:26). Read Matthew 15:21-28 and Genesis 32! That's your homework assignment this week! Next week, we will talk about unchangeable faith!
